Barra: More Trimming Ahead at GM

CEO Mary Barra says General Motors Co. has “a bit more work” to do as it scales back international operations with poor prospects for profitability.

Last week she confirmed the sale of GM’s Opel unit in Europe to PSA Group for $2.3 billion (€2.2 billion). The company already has phased out operations in Australia and Russia and scaled back its activities in India, Indonesia and Thailand.

Barra declares that every operation in every country must earn its cost of capital. At home, that will mean less spending on product development for cars, whose market share continues to shrink, and more investment in hot-selling SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks.

In the first two months of 2017, cars accounted for only 37.5% of the U.S. market, down from nearly 53% in January-February 2009, according to Autodata Corp.

Barra says retuning GM’s global operations also will free up more resources to develop advanced technologies such as self-driving and connected vehicles, promote its Cadillac brand, expand in China and bolster its captive finance unit.

GM also plans to hike its spending in South America, where GM brands have strong value, Automotive News says.